Alienware's first affordable gaming laptop is arriving at the perfect time

Sam Rutherford for Engadget Even though Alienware has been around for 30 years, the company hasn't really made an affordable, entry-level gaming laptop. But that changes today with the succinctly named Alienware 15, and based on the rising price of seemingly every gadget, it couldn't have come at a better time.

Let's start with the basics. The Alienware 15 will be available with both AMD and Intel CPUs, starting at $1,299 for a config with a Ryzen 5 220 processor, 16GB of RAM, 512GB M.2 SSD and an NVIDIA RTX 4050 GPU. If you opt for a system with a Core 5 210H chip and the same memory, graphics and storage, expect to pay $1,349. (Note: There will be a variant with an RTX 3050 GPU in certain regions, but not in North America.) The laptop also features a 15.3-inch LCD display with decent brightness (300 nits), a 1,920 x 1,200 resolution (16:10) and a relatively speedy 165Hz refresh rate. You also get a surprisingly wide assortment of ports including two USB-C, two USB-A (all of them are least Gen 3.1), HDMI 2.1, 3.5mm audio and even an onboard Ethernet jack. So just going by its core components, the Alienware 15 is off to a good start.

That said, I've had a chance to check out a pre-production model and while I can't benchmark it quite yet as it's still running unfinished software, there's a lot to like about Alienware's first proper budget gaming laptop. In addition to a new nova black paint scheme, this model features a more toned-down, understated design that I really like. Instead of a light up logo on its lid with built-in RGB LEDs, Alienware opted for a simple iridescent sticker that allows this thing to be a bit more incognito in case you ever need to bring it out in public. Subtle touches like a pronounced V-rail make it easy to open the lid, while the lack of a thermal shelf like you get on its more expensive siblings results in a more portable compact design that measures less than an inch thick at any point (0.81 inches in the front and 0.9 inches in the back). All told, the Alienware 15 brings some welcome subtlety from a company known for far out designs, so it should be even better at pulling double duty as a gaming rig and a portable productivity machine.